She’s a Sucker for It

One of the best love letters I read this Valentine’s season was by Sarah Copeland, chef in the Food Network Kitchens, about falling in love with octopus. It didn’t start out as true love: Her childhood concern was that “the suctions would get stuck [onto] the inside of my cheeks.”

But she eventually came around:

Several years later, the cephalopod [waved] its flirtatious arms my way again, this time more successfully, at a dinner prepared for me by my dear Valentine. An adventurous eater who’d spent several years near the sea in Spain, my Valentine and I shared a deep affection for edible sea life. When he placed the octopus before me, its deep purple skin glistened through the generous layers of olive oil, lemon juice and parsley, and I couldn’t resist. It was delicious—tender, juicy, and meaty in a way I’d never thought seafood could be. … I was in love.

Forget roses and jewelry; sometimes seafood is the way to a woman’s heart.